Monday, April 23, 2012

Need moar photos!

The new Los Alamos Daily Photo has been live for about two months now. Today, I thought I’d talk a little about how the blog is going — some things are great, and other things worry me a little. I’ve wondered whether starting a new business feels like this, only a lot more so. On balance, I’m super glad to be editing Daily Photo, and I look forward to doing so for a very long time.

The “bad” news first, or perhaps good news for folks with photos to submit: I need more photo submissions. The queue currently runs dry* on a fairly regular basis, and I fill in the gaps with my own photos. I’d much rather publish more of your photos and fewer of mine! :)

Anyway, the specific call to action is: I’d love it if every reader (that’s you!) would do one or both of the following:

Submit one photo of your own. It doesn’t have to be a brilliant photo; the point here is to tell the story of Los Alamos using photography, not be a fancy online art gallery.

Even better: Do these things on a regular basis. I’m sure every one of you takes at least one photo a month that Daily Photo’s readership would love to see.

Speaking of readership, I’m quite encouraged by the numbers:

We’re seeing 150-200 people visiting the site every week, which I find very promising. We’re well on our way to sustainability. And by sharing this site with others, you can help boost the growth curve that looks like it’s beginning to emerge.

Finally, the feedback I see from folks is wonderful. Peoples’ comments on the photos, and the occasional e-mails, are all very supportive. I feel fortunate to be able to offer a service that people enjoy.

What do you think? Leave comments, e-mail me, or I’d also be happy to have phone conversations — e-mail me and I can share the number.

* There’s some nuance here. The queue is never 100% empty, because a few folks sent me several photos in one go, which is awesome. However, it is true that I often have no photos “ready to go”, because I like to space out any individual photographer.